SCHEME FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A LOCAL MUSEUM
by T. W. Woodhead

At the request of Mr. Legh Tolson, I have to lay before you the broad outlines of a scheme for the utilization of the two houses at Ravensknowle, Dalton (Ravensknowle and Ravens Hill), which, together with 6 acres of surrounding gardens and parkland, he has so generously given to our town, in memory of his two nephews, Sec.-Lieut. Robert Huntriss Tolson and Sec. Lieut. James Martin Tolson, who gave their lives in the service of their country in the late war. For some time past the Free Library and Art Gallery Committee have had under consideration the provision of more suitable premises for the town’s library and art collection, and the inclusion of a museum in the scheme has been frequently urged upon the committee.

It has long been the policy of the Council to develop a museum at a convenient time, and a beginning has already been made in a room at the Technical College, but the site chosen for a Free Library and Art Gallery presents difficulties which render the inclusion of a Museum in that scheme practically impossible.

While the houses at Ravensknowle are not very suitable for the purpose of an Art Gallery, they can be admirably adapted to the purpose of a Museum.

If you consider the suggestion of a Museum a desirable one, it is important that a well considered scheme for its development should be adopted, so as to secure an institution suited to the needs of the locality, and at the same time not to hinder prosperity in any desire it may have to extend its growth and usefulness.

A Museum should be an educational institution, and should provide practical illustrations of the main factors in the environment of the community. The objects should be arranged as to show the influence of these factors on the organic life of the neighbourhood, and these in turn on the evolution of man’s activities and social development.

Local factors, in a broad sense, are the same as general or universal factors, and the fundamental lessons concerning them can be learnt most effectively by a study of local conditions and from local illustrations. But as surrounding conditions affect, and to some extent determine and modify the more local conditions, knowledge of them is essential. For a complete understanding of local conditions a wide outlook is involved.

Fundamentally, the conditions of life are everywhere the same, the differences are differences of degree not kind. A knowledge of these fundamental conditions is essential if man is to understand and appreciate what is required of him under the conditions in which circumstances have placed him.

The better a man understands the condition under which he lives, the better will he be able to bring his own activities into harmony with them.

In founding a local Museum it is important to remember that space and funds are limited. It is, therefore, useless to attempt the accumulation of universal objects. It is only in a National Museum and with national resources that this can be done with any approach to success.

A provincial Museum should be essentially local, and the advantages of such a policy are:-

(1) It prevents the accumulation of miscellaneous objects which, being too miscellaneous to be of educational value, are little more than curiosities.
(2) It will serve to concentrate study on local objects and aims, which are of greater value to the community, and ultimately of greater value to the state.
(3) A local museum should serve to cultivate local patriotism of the most desirable kind, and develop concentrated study, rather than discursive and superficial interest. Its educational value will thus be greatly enhanced.

The inspiration of the scheme is the recognition of the value of the intensive study and inter-relations of the common things around us.

The area included in the Huddersfield district extends from Studley Pike on the N.W. to the borders of Mossley on the S.W., and from Chidswell, near Dewsbury, on the N.E., to Oxspring, near Penistone, on the S.E. The district includes that portion of the County easily worked from Huddersfield. The margins of the area link up with other important centres with a minimum of overlapping, and constitutes a geographical area of great human and scientific interest of which Huddersfield is, in the main, the natural centre. The centre of the area is drained by the Colne and its tributaries. The northern border by the Calder, which receives the Colne to the east of town. The south eastern portion is drained by the Don, while the western slope of the Pennines is in the Mersey drainage.

The function of a Museum, however, is not solely the collection of objects to illustrate the natural history of the district and the development and activities of the people. Equally important is the true interpretation of the true facts accumulated, and it should be the aim of the Museum Handbooks to tell the story of their significance and interest.

Mr. Tolson’s gift has provided Huddersfield with an opportunity which many towns well envy, the opportunity of laying the foundations of a Museum free from the many excrescences and oddities which characterize so many museums and which not only reduce their usefulness, but prove too heavy a burden for the authorities to throw off in their fruitless attempts to develop right lines.

© Copyright of Kirklees Museums and Galleries